Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to unhear

to unhear

2 9.9
To try to forget something you heard that made you upset
  • verb
  • /ʌnˈhɪr/
  • Texting
translation icon : olvidar
  • For a moment, I wished I could unhear what he said because I was terrified as to what I would find when I investigated.

And immediately, you know, you think, OK, well, I can't, I can't unhear that.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Connors' voice went on, unhearing, more than a hundred million kilometers away.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Once you hear it, you can't unhear it.

    Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

  • And the sounds like you can't unhear those sounds.

  • Yeah, but I'm gonna ask you not to tell me anything that I can't unhear, if you know what I mean.

    Sinister 2 (2015)

  • Some found the interaction to be so traumatic that they regretted finally calling them out, feeling that they could never unread or unhear those words.

    DoctorRamani

  • Some found the interaction to be so traumatic that they regretted finally calling them out, feeling that they could never unread or unhear those words.

    DoctorRamani

  • They walked through the throng, unseeing and unhearing.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • After learning the truth, I wished I could unhear what I had just been told.

  • Hearing that awful rumor made her want to unhear everything she heard about him.

  • It's hard to unhear the harsh words spoken during the argument last night.

Synonyms

to forget
vsto unhear
∞ 1.8

Decide not to think about something

is used when the thing remembered was heard and feels upsetting
to unthink
vsto unhear
1 9.3

Try to push a memory or idea out of your mind

applies when the memory comes from hearing and feels disturbing

Surface Forms

unhear infinitive
unhearing present participle
unhears third person singular
unheard past
unheard past participle

Morphology

unhear = hear (semi-transparent) = un + hear

While the prefix 'un-' suggests a negation or reversal, the specific meaning of 'trying to forget something heard' is not a standard derivation.

Etymology

Unhear comes from the common prefix un- meaning 'not' or 'reverse' and the verb hear. A helpful way to remember it is to imagine pressing 'undo' on a sound so you can take it back or forget it, which is why unhear means trying to forget something you have heard.